Cici's Journal

by Joris Chamblain, Aurélie Neyret (Illustrator)

Overview

Cici dreams of being a novelist. Her favorite subject: people, especially adults. She’s been watching them and taking notes. Everybody has one special secret, Cici figures, and if you want to write about people, you need to understand what’s hiding inside them. But now she’s discovered something truly strange: an old man who disappears into the forest every Sunday with huge pots of paint in all sorts of colors. What is he up to? Why does he look so sad when he comes back?

In a graphic novel interwoven with journal notes, scrapbook pieces, and doodles, Cici assembles clues about the odd and wonderful people she’s uncovered, even as she struggles to understand the mundane: her family and friends.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626722477
Publisher:	First Second
Publication date:	07/20/2021
Series:	Cici's Journal
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	105,774
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Joris Chamblain was born on January 29, 1984. He stumbled into graphic novels when he was very little and decided at an early age that comics would be his career. His first comic book series Cici's Journal (Les Carnets de Cerise in French) won the Youth Prize at the Angouleme International Comics Festival and no less than twenty awards. Nowadays he devotes all his time to writing comics and books for kids, and even trying his hand at a novel. He and his many artistic collaborators have quite a few projects in the works.

Aurélie Neyret is an illustrator from Lyon, France. When she was little, she loved to hide away and read all night long, and—more than anything else—to draw! Today, her approach to life hasn’t changed much, and she works hard to bring her projects to fruition.

Editorial Reviews

"French illustrator Neyret’s delicate, finely worked portraits bring elegance to this pair of graphic stories."—Publisher's Weekly

"The lessons are breezy, but the art is sumptuous: Neyret’s naturalistic illustrations have marvelous depth, with dense color, dynamic movement, and a fantastic use of light and shadow."—Booklist

"May have younger readers beginning their own writing, painting, or scrapbooking adventures." —Kirkus

From the Publisher

2021-05-19
A young girl’s imagination meets wholesome, kid-centered storytelling in this sweet graphic novel.

In this cleverly illustrated story, readers meet 10-year-old Cici, who lives with her mother in a picturesque village with friends. An avid diarist, she wants to be a writer when she grows up. One day, while in the forest treehouse she has built with her best friends, she spies an unusual sight: a mysterious older man, accompanied by a parrot, carrying paint cans through the forest. She and her friends set out to figure out both the man’s identity and his secret, hidden deep in the forest behind a looming stone wall. What follows is a tender story involving a zoo, animals, helping others, and the powers of art and kindness. Curiosity, imagination and teamwork take center stage. Most characters, including Cici, present White, though characters of color are present in peripheral roles. While Cici’s story is told primarily by a third-person narrator, the text’s key visual innovation is to periodically insert illustrated excerpts from Cici’s diary as well as newspaper clippings and photographs of events in the story. The final pages include a space for readers to contribute an illustration. While the clunky, at-times saccharine dialogue might be off-putting to some, the colorful and charming mystery at the center of the text will render this infelicity inconsequential for most.

May have younger readers beginning their own writing, painting, or scrapbooking adventures. (Graphic mystery. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews

10/02/2017
French illustrator Neyret’s delicate, finely worked portraits bring elegance to this pair of graphic stories. Ten-year-old Cici is determined to become a writer and introduces her cast of characters in journal entries: her single mother, her novelist neighbor Mrs. Flores (“After meeting her that day, I knew that I wanted to write books too”), and her friends Lena and Erica. Subsequent action toggles between panel artwork, Cici’s journal notes, and other correspondence. Cici successfully solves two mysteries—one in the forest that contains an abandoned zoo, the second in the local library—but her professional ambitions sometimes trip her up. More than once, she expects Lena and Erica to lie to her mother when she’s out investigating, and Mrs. Flores complains that Cici only consults her when she needs information. Tension between the friends heats up during the second mystery, and Cici repents. The stories are smart and Burrell’s translation is skillful, but they’re hobbled somewhat by the wooden first-person narration (“For the first time I shared a big secret with my mom. Could she feel my hand shaking?”) and dialogue. Ages 8–12. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

01/01/2018
Gr 3–6—Translated from French, Chamblain's charming graphic novel centers on a 10-year-old supersleuth navigating life, school, and relationships. Cici channels her dreams of being an author into a notebook, recounting two of her stakeouts-turned-adventures. Her "trick for telling stories is to observe people, imagine their lives, their secrets," but sometimes that comes at the cost of others' feelings. Learning to use her inquisitive nature responsibly becomes Cici's most perplexing mystery as she struggles to balance supporting her loved ones and chasing her passion. The scrapbook journal style of the book, with its emphasis on Cici's thoughts, lends itself well to the narrative, and her imagination shines through in scribbles, doodles, and notes. The lush, muted illustrations deftly convey mood through light, shadow, and washes of color. The secondary characters are also well rendered. The girl's single mother is authentic and warm, Cici's bonds with her best friends emphasize the importance of give-and-take in relationships, and an elderly neighbor's writing career inspires Cici. While some plot points resolve too serendipitously, graphic novel fans will appreciate this feel-good tale. VERDICT Equal parts Amelia's Notebook, Harriet the Spy, and a whimsical flavor of its own, this winsome title should easily find a home in most middle grade collections.—Erin Douglass, Worth-Pinkham Memorial Library, Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ

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